Campbell's law is an adage

Adage

An adage is a short but memorable saying which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or that has gained some credibility through its long use....

 developed by Donald T. Campbell

Donald T. Campbell

Donald Thomas Campbell was an American social scientist. He is noted for his work in methodology. He coined the term "evolutionary epistemology" and developed a selectionist theory of human creativity.- Biography :...

:
The social science principle of Campbell's law is sometimes used to point out the negative consequences of high-stakes testing

High-stakes testing

A high-stakes test is a test with important consequences for the test taker. Passing has important benefits, such as a high school diploma, a scholarship, or a license to practice a profession...

 in U.S. classrooms.

What Campbell

Donald T. Campbell

Donald Thomas Campbell was an American social scientist. He is noted for his work in methodology. He coined the term "evolutionary epistemology" and developed a selectionist theory of human creativity.- Biography :...

 also states in this principle is that "achievement tests may well be valuable indicators of general school achievement under conditions of normal teaching aimed at general competence. But when test scores become the goal of the teaching process, they both lose their value as indicators of educational status and distort the educational process in undesirable ways. (Similar biases of course surround the use of objective tests in courses or as entrance examinations.)"

Campbell's law was published in 1976 by Donald T. Campbell

Donald T. Campbell

Donald Thomas Campbell was an American social scientist. He is noted for his work in methodology. He coined the term "evolutionary epistemology" and developed a selectionist theory of human creativity.- Biography :...

, an experimental social science researcher and the author of many works on research methodology. Closely related ideas are known under different names, e.g. Goodhart's law

Goodhart's law

Goodhart's law, although it can be expressed in many ways, states that once a social or economic indicator or other surrogate measure is made a target for the purpose of conducting social or economic policy, then it will lose the information content that would qualify it to play that role...

, and the Lucas critique

Lucas critique

The Lucas critique, named for Robert Lucas′ work on macroeconomic policymaking, argues that it is naïve to try to predict the effects of a change in economic policy entirely on the basis of relationships observed in historical data, especially highly aggregated historical data.The basic idea...

.

Technically schooled people often use the term "Heisenberg" as a shorthand to represent concepts such as Campbell's law. This is taken from the concept of Heisenberg uncertainty in quantum physics where the act of measuring something changes what is being measured.

See also

• Nichols, S. L., & Berlner, D. C. (2007). Collateral Damage: How high-stakes testing corrupts America's schools Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press
• Goodhart's law
  Goodhart's law
  Goodhart's law, although it can be expressed in many ways, states that once a social or economic indicator or other surrogate measure is made a target for the purpose of conducting social or economic policy, then it will lose the information content that would qualify it to play that role...
  
  

Tony Waters, "CAMPBELL’S LAW, PLANNED SOCIAL CHANGE, VIETNAM WAR DEATHS, AND CONDOM DISTRIBUTIONS IN REFUGEE CAMPS" at Ethnography.com